Recent transformation in Turkish foreign policy has conduced to a new interest in academic circles especially for the geography of the Middle East. Nevertheless, the number of institutes and programs that focus on the Middle East in our universities is far from adequate. On the other hand, in order to offer an alternative for Turkish foreign policy makers who are beginning to establish close ties with the Middle East, studies that analyze the region politically, economically and culturally are needed.

In other respects, researches about the region in our country considered only in the academic sphere and also the lack of research/researcher in practical terms is remarked as one of the most critical deficiencies. Therefore, this program was launched in 2011 in order to enable further in-depth studies on the region and to reduce researcher inadequacy. In particular, political developments and changes in the Arab world, which started in 2011, reveal the necessity of opening this program, and it is becoming more important to start education in the master's field in the fall semester of 2012-2013.

Students who complete their studies in the Middle East Studies Graduate Program will have the opportunity to specialize around five main research themes. These research areas include; History of the Middle East, Religion and Society in the Middle East, Middle East Economy, Middle East Foreign Policy and Middle East Politics. The program is organized in three languages, Turkish, English and Arabic. In this way, the program aims to make students from different cultures coexist and work in different languages.

The duration of graduation from the program is 8 semesters. However, students can ask for a maximum of 4 semester extension if they cannot qualify for graduation within the expected program length. Doctorate students have to pass at least eight of their courses, then must be successful in the doctoral examination in order to start writing their theses. Students can choose to write their theses in one of the program languages.